The Hour of History Podcast

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Our World. Anytime. Anyplace.
The Hour of History Podcast aims to introduce general audiences to a diverse range of historical topics in order to educate, inspire, and spark a curiosity. Seeking to understand how we know what we know and why the past matters, this podcast will both entertain and educate.

Our World. Anytime. Anyplace.
The Hour of History Podcast aims to introduce general audiences to a diverse range of historical topics in order to educate, inspire, and spark a curiosity. Seeking to understand how we know what we know and why the past matters, this podcast will both entertain and educate.

Our World. Anytime. Anyplace.
The Hour of History Podcast aims to introduce general audiences to a diverse range of historical topics in order to educate, inspire, and spark a curiosity. Seeking to understand how we know what we know and why the past matters, this podcast will both entertain and educate.

Episodes

History is all around us. Sometimes it is just a matter of sitting and listening. When was the last time you met someone new and learned about the way they view the past? How many stories are out there? This week in an unorthodox Hour of History interview, I look back to an interview I did earlier this year where a chance encounter became a long conversation about Cuban history. The discussion ranged from the Revolution to modern day and offers insight into personal experience in...

Travis Roy is back in the studio to talk about Popular Culture in American History. Last time we chatted, we didn't have nearly enough time to talk about the cultural significance of Comics, especially in light of the recent passing of legendary creator Stan Lee. Here, we discuss how culture is significantly altered by comics and movies and how economic powerhouses such as Disney continue to colonize successful brands. Join us for an insightful conversation, part deux, on American culture....

This week Dr. Elizabeth Hayes Alvarez talks about history, religion, teaching and a whole lot more. Dr. Alvarez studies and teaches American religious history at Temple University. Her first book, The Valiant Woman: The Virgin Mary in Nineteenth-Century American Culture was published in 2016 and considers the broad devotion across Christianity, both Protestant and Catholic, to Mary. Follow her on Twitter @hayesalvarez Some Highlights: The history of the Immaculate Conception American...

You need to get off Facebook now! There are historical reasons for it, too. This week Manna Duah takes us through the reasons that you should not only sign off Facebook for good, but also be more conscious in your consumption of social media, food, and a whole lot more. This episode is both inspiring and enlightening! Enjoy. Some Highlights: Facebook's dirty tactics Rohingya and he Genocide in Myanmar The Civil War in Yemen Doing good in our world Why you should get of Facebook Not setting...

Significant events call for historical context! This week, I take us on a historical tour of some significant anniversaries and a big statue in a break from the regular interviews. Translated from the banner image, "The secret to salvation is remembering" Some Highlights: Introducing "What in the World?" 80 years since Kristallnacht 100 years since the end of World War I The largest statue in the world Nationalism and representation in Flags https://youtu.be/7xWncxw-upo Music by Frank...

How do symbols of hatred fly in our country? What are they and what history do they have? This week Joey Humnicky, a PhD student at Temple University who studies Early American History, and I talk about the Confederate flag and its proliferation in upstate New York. Some Highlights: Civil War history, how the Confederacy created a flag Remembering the Civil War and the contested past The Confederate flag, memory, and hatred Urban rural divide and the growth of the Confederate flag in the...

This week Josh Stern, a PhD student at Temple University who studies U.S. - Latin America Foreign Relations, and I talk about the migrant caravan on its way to the United States. We contextualize the caravan and talk about the historical relationship between the United States and Central America. Some Highlights: Central American History- Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Mexico United States and the drug war American elections and constant talk of immigration The Migrant Caravan and...

This week is the first in a series of Hour of History interviews that will deal with education, teaching abroad, and pedagogy. Ben Gefell is a teacher in Asuncion, Paraguay who has taught on three different continents and a variety of different environments. Whether he was in South Korea, the Bronx, or Latin America, Gefell has introduced new pedagogical approaches centered on a holistic approach to education. If you have any additional question about teaching abroad or teaching you can...

This week, Hour of History features Travis Roy. Our conversation is a discussion about popular culture and history, and will interest anyone who studies modern American history. Popular culture is something that has always been important to Travis, who has recently turned this appealing field into scholarly work. You may remember Travis from an interesting conversation we had about environmental history in July. Some Highlights: Minstrel shows and carnivals Cultural appropriation and...

This week, in a part two of our narrative break from interviews (we return next week with an interview), Hour of History looks back to Calcutta কলকাতা from Independence to Modernity. This episode is a look back to the city that rose from a hotbed of Indian nationalism to one of the most modern megalopolis in the world. By selecting important moments and items in the history of the city, your host, Steven, draws on power, politics, and technology to understand Calcutta's recent years. Some...

This week, in a break from interviews, Hour of History looks back to Calcutta কলকাতা 150 years after Gandhi was born. Gandhi, of course, was not from Calcutta, but he was there on the day India won its independence from the United Kingdom. This episode is a look back to the city that rose from a fishing village to one of the British Empire's most important colonial cities. By selecting important moments and items in the history of the city, your host, Steven, draws on history, religion,...

This week, Hour of History sits down with Mingyuan Zhang an anthropologist at the University of Western Ontario. Mingyuan lived in Madagascar to study the Chinese community and understand how "being Chinese" is culturally and socially constructed between Mandarin-speaking Chinese and Malagasy people. Some Highlights: Chinese-owned sugar plantations Global connections between Chinese and Malagasy businessmen Learning languages globally Antsiranana Approaches to ethnographic fieldwork The...

Andrea Siotto, a historian at Temple University and technology expert joins HoH to talk about the history of technology and using technology to write history. This episode is helpful for people who want to know about technology in history and how to speed up their research and writing. Some Highlights: Noticing technology in history Trench warfare What techonology is and what technology is not Toilets Smart research Why you need to learn how to code Weekly Suggestions: Andrea - 20,000...

Adam Rawnsley , one of Philadelphia's finest journalists joins us this week on Hour of History. Rawnsley currently writes for Foreign Policy and has written for a number of publications such as The Daily Beast, Wired, and War is Boring. Some Highlights: United States Intelligence Operations in North Korea Kim il-Sung Republic of Korea and Democratic People's Republic of North Korea Journalists and Academics The wide availability of declassified documents available for public research Read...

Malcolm Harris, the author of the upcoming book Kids These Days: Human Capital and the Making of Millennials joins us on the Hour of History Podcast to talk about human capital, millennials, and exploitation in the United States. Harris' work has appeared in n+1, New Republic, medium, and New York Times Magazine among a number of other publications. Some Highlights: The purpose of education Stress from competition Protest Community organization The future of our society The value of a...

Dr. Tamir Sorek, a professor of Sociology and Jewish Studies at the University of Florida, sits down to talk about the power of sport to shape politics, nationalism, and a number of aspects of our world. Sorek's fine work, Arab Soccer in a Jewish State, is central to our discussion- one that was far too short to cover his other work which is published in multiple languages, numerous articles, and multiple books. Anyone who has followed along with the NFL protests, the World Cup, or good...

Thanks for checking out Hour of History: Cities Podcast. This week is the final episode in the Cities that Supplied the World and the last Cities Podcast episode for a little while. Hour of History will continue regularly on Saturdays. If you are looking for more cities, why don't you check out previous Cities Episodes? Our next city is in Peru. What started as the consumption of an Andean shrub that made its consumers feel better, turned into Cocaine, widely consumed in the Western world....

Making the past something in which we can participate in is a result of the work and career of Dr. Lillian Guerra, our guest on Hour of History this week. Guerra is currently a history professor at the University of Florida and author of the recently released Heroes, Martyrs, and Political Messiahs in Revolutionary Cuba, 1946-1958. If you are curious about teaching history, learning history, Cuba, or a good story check out this episode. And, as always, recommendations made in this episode...

We are back to Brazil, Manaus to be precise, and we are burning up some rubber. The tears of trees becomes the perfect example of a commodity and a city that rose and fell with the great waves of capitalism. From Rubber Barons to tortuous working conditions, rubber was at the bottom of it. Check out our new episode on HoH Cities. City 5: Manaus - Rubber https://youtu.be/XYVic624HyE

This episode comes to you from Hour of History's hometown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where I talk to Andrea Siotto about the ups and downs of being an historian. If you are interested in history, research, or pursuing a PhD this episode is for you! Some Highlights: The Imperial War Museum London Havana Money How to research Amateur historians Professional historians Why we love our jobs How we stay sane Weekly Suggestions: Steven - The Internet Archive Andrea - In This Corner of the World...